Adaptive capacity and community-based natural resource management

Area of Science:

• Environmental Social Science
• Natural Resource Management
• Adaptive Governance

Background:

• Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) performance varies significantly.
• Existing theories focus on institutional design principles but overlook dynamic factors.
• Critiques question the assumptions underlying CBNRM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the relationship between adaptive capacity and CBNRM performance.
• To identify socio-institutional determinants influencing collective action and management adaptation.
• To address conceptual weaknesses in current CBNRM research and policy.

Main Methods:

• Comparative case studies from northern Canada and Southeast Asia.
• Examination of exogenous and endogenous variables affecting social actors' collective action.
• Analysis of socio-institutional determinants: technical, financial, legal, political, scale, knowledge, community, and culture.

Main Results:

• Adaptive capacity is crucial for enhancing CBNRM performance beyond static design principles.
• Socio-institutional factors significantly influence collective action and management adaptation.
• The study highlights the importance of learning and capacity building for responsive resource management.

Conclusions:

• Improving CBNRM requires a focus on adaptive capacity and socio-institutional dynamics.
• Future research and policy should integrate adaptive capacity into CBNRM frameworks.
• This approach moves beyond traditional design principles to address complex, evolving management challenges.